Montour Man pleads guilty in bankruptcy fraud case

June 6, 2014

A man who concealed assets from his creditors and the United States Bankruptcy Court pled guilty last week in federal court in Cedar Rapids.

Jay Freese, age 51, from Montour, Iowa, was convicted of one count of concealment of bankruptcy assets.

In a plea agreement, Freese admitted that he filed for bankruptcy protection in September 2009, in the United States Bankruptcy Court in the Northern District of Iowa, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. As part of seeking that protection, Freese was required to disclose all of his assets. Freese admitted that he did not disclose a Bobcat S175 skid loader or a Kubota tractor/loader. Freese further admitted that, during a bankruptcy hearing, he falsely testified under oath that he had sold the Bobcat and Kubota. In fact, Freese had never sold the Bobcat or Kubota and had retained possession of the equipment at all times, fraudulently concealing those assets with the intent to deceive his creditors, the bankruptcy trustee, and the United States Bankruptcy Court.

Sentencing before United States District Court Chief Judge Linda R. Reade will be set after a presentence report is prepared. Freese remains free on bond previously set pending sentencing. Freese faces a possible maximum sentence of five years' imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a $100 special assessment, and three years of supervised release following any imprisonment.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney C.J. Williams and was investigated by the United States Trustee's Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.